Safety delivery-receptacle.



E. P. WOLF.

SAFETY DELIVERY RECEPTACLE.

APPLICATION FILED NOY.I4|1914.

Patented Oct. 5, 1915.

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EUGENE IE. WOLF, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SAFETY nELIvEnY-REcErTAoLE.

Specification f Letters Patent.

Patented oeee, 1915.

Application filed November 14, 1914. Serial No. 872,067.

. articles within the premises. 7

It is a well known fact that in many places, particularly the large cities, thereexists a great amount of petty thieving of such goods as milk and cream bottles, from theback porches of houses and flat buildings, that are commonly delivered at an early hour of the morning before the occupants of the premises are astir. Various devices for remedying this situation have been proposed,rbut, so far as I am aware, they have for the most part proved. toocumbersome and expensive to. be practical and to command favorable attention from'builders and property owners.

It is the prime object of the present invention to provide a simple, inexpensive and thoroughly .practical and reliable, improved safety delivery receptacle for application to the backdoors or walls of dwellings of all kinds, through the agency of which the de-' livery man can so dispose of the goods left byhim as to prevent thieving and insure the safe receipt of the goods by the customer. J To thisend the invention consists ii in a safety delivery receptacle having the novel features of construction'and mode of use substantially as hereinafter described and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing I have illustrated one practical and approved form in which my invention is embodied, and referring thereto, Figure 1 is aperspective elevational View of my improvedsafety delivery '5 receptacle, showing the same in recelving position. Fig. 2 1s a horizontal section on the line'2'2 of Fig. 1. 7 Fig. 3 is a horizontal section similar to Fig. 2, but showing the A receptacle in delivery position. Fig. 4 is a vertical axial section through the'upper portion of the device,'as seen on the line 4e-4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a detail vertical section taken on the line 55 of Fig. 1, illustrating semicircular sheetmetal casing that is adapted to befitted to and secured in a suitable opening in the panel of a door, 'or in a side wall, Figs- 2 and 3 illustrating at 13 a hori zontal section of what may be assumed torbe the panel of a back door, suitable packing strips 14 being preferably employed to secure a snug joint between the casing and its setting. V f i f The casing is so mounted in the door that its open side 15 is on the outer side of the door; and the casing is further formed with an opening 16 in its side wall 10 that is located on'the inner side of the door. Centrally mounted within this casing, on independent vertically alined pivots'17 and 18, is a circular sheet-metal holder comprising a cylindrical side wall'or body portion 19 and fiat top and bottom walls 20 and 21,- respectively; the pivot bolts 17 and 18-connecting the top walls 11 and 20'and the bottom walls 12 and 21 of the casing. and holder, respectively, thereby leaving within the holder a single, entirely unobstructed receiving chamber having the full dimensions and capacity of the holder.

19 with a single opening 22 of substantially the same form and area as the opening 16 of the casing.

The holder is also formed in its side or body wall The holder may be entered within the 'casing through the open side 15 of the latter, and has a loose sliding fit within the latter so as to be capable of an easy turning movement on its pivots 17 and 18. From this it I delivery position, should be locked in such delivery position to prevent its being turned back to open or receiving position before the goods have been withdrawn. To accom plish this result I have provided the simple automatic locking means illustrated in Figs. 1, 4iand 5, the same consisting of a locking bar 23 formed with an arm or shank 24: that is pivoted at 25 to the top wall 11 of the.

casing and normally lies within a locking aperture 26 in said top wall 11, its lower end resting on the top wall 20 of the holder. Said top wall 20 is similarly provided with a lockingaperture 27 so located that when the holder is turned to bring itsopeninig 22 into register with the delivery opening 1*6'of the casing, the locking apertureQ'T registers with the locking aperture 26, as shown in Fig; 5, and the lockingbolt 23 automatically drops tl'lrough said apertures and thereby locks the holder against turning movement in either direction, the lockingposition of the-bar being shown by dotted lines in Fig. 5. The locking bar is preferably provided with a lug or tab 28 by which it may be readily raised by person on the inner side of the door to unlock the holder and permit it to be returned to receiving position.

To facilitate the turning of the holder from the'inside,- the top wall 7 of the casing is formed with an arc shaped slot 29, through which extends the stem or shank 30 of a knob 31, said stein or shank being secured in thetop wall 20 of he holder. lhe knob 31 not only provides a convenient handle for turning the holder from the inside, but, in cooperation with the slot 29, it forms a means for limiting the extent of turning movement of the holder, so that the latter may be oscillated only between the receiving and delivery positions illustrated in Figs. 2' and 3. A similaroperating knob or handle 32 isalso mounted on the exposed portion of the top wall QO'of the holder for convenient operation of the latter by the delivery man from the outside. Preferably, and as here shown, the inner opening 16 of the casing is guarded by a hinged door 83 held closed by a button or latch 84 to guard against the entrance of cold air. v

The operation of the device will be readily understood from the foregoing description. The delivery man places the milk, cream, groceries or other articles, Within the holder through the opening 22' of the latter,

the parts being in the relative positions shown in Figs. 1 and 2. He then rotates the holder in the direction indicatedby the arrow in'Fig. 1 until the opening 22 registers with the opening 16 of the casing, at which instant the locking bar 23 drops into locking position. In this position of the parts the goods are safely housed within the holder and inaccessible to thieves; and may be removed by the purchaser of the goods from within upon opening the door 33. When the goods have been removed, the locking bar 23 is raised and the holder turned back by the knob 31 to receiving position:

Practically all the parts of the device can be made from sheetnnetal and formed and assembled at a very low cost, thus providing a device which will pay for itself in very short time in its saving of goods which would otherwise be-stolen. While the described construction is preferred, it will be manifest that it may be modified in various minor details without substantially altering its character or lessening its practical utility; and hence the invention is not: limited to all the details shown and described except toxthe extentdefined in specific claims.

I claim:

1. In a' safety delivery receptacle of the character described, the combi-natibn of a substantially semicircular casingv adapted to be set in, a' door with its open side on the outer side of the latter and formed with an inner side opening, a' circular holder mounted in said casing on a vertical pivot and formed with a single receiving chamber and single side opening adapted. to. register alternately with the openings of said casing, said holder being movable about its pivot inbot-h directions, and means for automatically locking saidholder with its opening in register with the inner side opening of said casing.

.Ziln a safety delivery receptacle of the character described, the combination of a substantially semicircular casing adapted to be set in a door with its open side on the outer side of the latteran'dformed with an inner side opening, a circular holder mounted in said casing on a vertical. pivot and formed. with a' single receiving chamber and a single side opening adapted to: register alternately with the openings-of said casing, said holder being movable about itspivot in both. directions, means. for automatically locking said holder with its opening inregister with the inner side openingof said casing, and means; forlimiting? thev turning movement of said holder in both directions.

3. In asafety delivery receptacle of the character described; the combination of a substantially semicircular casing having top and bottom walls adapted to be set in adoor with its open side ongthe outer side of the door and formed. with an inner side opening, a circular. holder within saidcasing having top and bottom ,wa-lls" connected to the.- top and bottom walls ofsaid casing by independent vertically alinedpivots and formed with a single unobstructed receiving chamber and a single side opening adapted to register alternately with the openings of said casing, said holder being; movable about its pivot in both directions, and means for automatically locking said holder with its opening in register with the inner side opening of said casing.

4. In a safety delivery receptacle of the character described, the combination of a substantially semicircular casing having top and bottom walls adapted to be set in a door with its open side on the outer side of the door and formed with an inner side 0pen ing, a circular holder within said casing having top and bottom walls connected to the top and bottom walls of said casing by independent vertically alined pivots and formed with a single unobstructed receiving chamber and a single side opening adapted to register alternately with the openings of said casing, said holder being movable about its pivot in both directions, means'for turning said holder, means for automatically locking said holder with its opening in register with the inner side opening of said casing, and means for limiting the extent of turning movement of said holder in both directions.

5. In a safety delivery receptacle of the character described, the combination of a casing adapted to be set in a door and having two side openings on the outer and inner sides of the door, respectively, and a top wall formed with a locking aperture, a holder centrally mounted on a vertical pivot within said casing and having a top wall formed with a locking aperture and a side opening adapted to register alternately with the openings of said casing, and a locking bar mounted on the top wall of said casing and projecting through the aperture of the latter onto the top wall of said holder, said locking bar automatically engaging the locking aperture of said holder when the latter isturned to bring its opening into register with the inner opening of said casing.

6. In a safety delivery receptacle of the character described, the combination of a. casing adapted to be set in a door and having two side openings on the outer and inner sides of the door, respectively, and a top wall formed with an arc-shaped slot, a

holder centrally mounted on a vertical pivot within said casing and having a side opening adapted to register alternately with the openings of said casing, a knob having a shank extending through said slot and secured to said holder for turning the latter from the inner side of the door, and means for automatically locking said holder with with an inner side opening and with a top wall having an arc-shaped slot, a circular sheet-metal holder centrally mounted on a vertical pivot within said casing and having a top wall and a side opening adapted to register alternately with the openings of said casing, a knob having a shank extending through said slot and secured in the top wall of said holder for turning the latter from the inner side of the door, another knob mounted on the normally exposed portion of said holder for vturning the latter from the outer side of the door, and means for automatically locking said holder with its opening in register with the inner opening of said casing.

EUGENE P. WOLF.

Witnesses:

S. N. Form, A. G. LATIMER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

